1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved tamper resistant vehicular validation tab of the type that is secured within recessed corners of the exposed surface of vehicular license plates, or to bumpers, or other parts of the vehicle, such as windows so as to provide confirmation of the identity of the vehicle and, where desired, the date of expiration of the registration or other information and an associated method and, more specifically, the invention is directed toward a system which eliminates a number of the undesirable characteristics of prior art systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been known for governmental units to license vehicles, such as automobiles and trucks and, as part of the system, to provide metal license plates, each of which have a unique alphanumeric designation so as to identify the owner and vehicle which has been registered with the governmental unit. As the period for which a vehicle license fee has been paid is generally one or two years, were a new metal license plate issued at expiration, the cost would be substantial. As a result, it has been conventional practice to use the metal license plate for a period of years, which may be on the order of 6 to 15 years, but to provide a small recess of approximately 1 inch by 11/2 inch size, for example, in each corner of the license plate and to provide annual validation tabs which are adhesively secured within one of these corners.
It has also been known to apply identification or parking validation labels to bumpers or windows and state inspection tabs to the interior of vehicle windows.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,370,763 and 5,595,624 disclose an informational article which may be a vehicle temporary registration. These patents disclose insertion of variable information over a patterned image which may be a hologram to resist photocopying and securing a transparent tape which has write-resistant properties thereover.
In general, the existing prior art tabs provide a fully fabricated unitary material containing glass beads embedded within a composite element segregated from the adhesive by a base film. The adhesive layer secures the tab to the license plate recess and the identifying dating information, such as the year date and the registration number provided on the exposed surface of the plate. When the current tab is removed, there may be some tear across all the layers, but there is no substantial destruction of the identifying information. This provides opportunities for theft of the tab and use on the license plate of an unauthorized user, as well as alteration of the identifying information.
There has also been a tendency for users to secure adhesively to a new vehicular validation tab over an old one thereby creating two or more tabs secured within one recess and also thereby contributing to ease of unauthorized removal of the tab. Also, application of heat softens the adhesive and permits undesired removal of the tab as a unit.
The reason for employing the glass beads in the prior art is that when exposed to light, particularly at night, the beads will reflect the light, thereby confirming that a tab is present on the vehicle. The retro-reflective concept normally involves providing a metallized backing on the tab so as to enhance the efficiency with which light impinged on the tab will be reflected back toward the direction of impingement. From an environmental standpoint, the glass bead tab cannot be recycled in any practical way.
Many motor vehicle administrators believe that the current tab does not protect the variable data, is easy to remove from a vehicle by the professional thief, is very hard to apply and secure by an ordinary citizen and, in general, other than providing some safety by reflecting at night, is worthless. Similar problems exist with respect to window tabs, such as inspection stickers secured to the window interior. There remains, therefore, a substantial need for an improved vehicular validation tab which will facilitate avoidance of the foregoing problems.